Eh the Cavs kind of blew out the Celtics at a few points. Most of the series they were up by double digits at most times. The loss of Love is gonna hurt though, especially with how some other teams are playing.

The only other team that has looked dominant is the Wizards, and I don't think the loss of Love will hurt the Cavs that much in that match up. Mozgov will match up with Gortat, and that leaves Nene and he doesn't make that much of an impact these days averaging 11 points and 5 boards a game. The combination of Irving and James is going to be too much for Wall and Beal to handle.

Not to mention that the Cavs might have Love back by the time they get to the semi-finals, which is the only place they could face the Wizards. Despite the fact that they dropped 2 in a row to the Nets (which is kind of pathetic), the Hawks will win the series and get the Wizards in round 2, leaving the Cavs to take on the Bucks, or more likely, the Bulls. Now that Bulls matchup without Love is a little more intimidating, but the Bulls have dropped two games to a Milwaukee team they should be trampling over. And as bad as the PF matchup is for the Cavs against the Bulls, who are they going to have guarding LeBron?

I don't see the Cavs running into any trouble until the finals when they have to face the best of the West, and by then they'll likely have Love back.

can't wait to see my guy Beal and the Wizards end Toronto tonight. hoping for a sweep.

I've enjoyed watching Otto Porter rise to the occasion during the playoffs. I'm from Cape Girardeau so I watched Otto play throughout his high school career. My friends in college from STL watched Beal play in HS.

Yeah Otto Porter definitely surprised in the playoff. Going in I thought the only competitive series in the East was going to be Raptors/Wizards. Wizards have the advantage in the starting line up and the raptors have the advantage off the bench. Otto Porter was the best sixth man in that series, negating whatever advantage the Raptors have there. Even so, the Raps starters were so crappy I don't think even a better bench would have help prevent a sweep.

As I expected, the Bulls get complacent again in the playoff at an advantage. But to throw away two games? That surprised me. They better get the job done in game 6 or game 7 will be a cagey affair.

The Hawks should have closed the series by now, how they let the Nets stay alive to make it a long series I have no idea. They are letting 4th quarter leads slip away too easily.

Blazers stayed alive last night against the Grizzlies. Don't expect that to continue at all much to my dismay but it was nice to see Portland actually have some fire in them for that game. Maybe Lillard realized it's time to uh play basketball instead of worrying about how many shoe deals or facebook likes he has.

The Hawks should have closed the series by now, how they let the Nets stay alive to make it a long series I have no idea. They are letting 4th quarter leads slip away too easily.

This past week has been increasingly frustrating. I don't believe in any magical switch that gets flipped so that the game is incredibly different in the post season than it is in the regular season, but it's almost seems like the Hawks have forgotten how to play basketball. We've lost the ability to hit open jump shots, Horford/Antic/Millsap might as well be flimsy paper trying to guard Lopez, and if I see another Jarrett Jack contested mid-range shot go in, I may snap. Oh, and it doesn't help that Deron Williams actually decided to show up last night. We better improve in this next two games, or I do not like our chances against Washington at all.

EDIT: Hell, we may not even see Washington if we continue to play like we have.

The Hawks playoff inexperience is simply showing. They'll still win this series and the next. They're at the very least going to make EFC. I guarantee it. There's just too much talent on that team not to.

This might be a bias here but the Bulls are going to surprise a lot of people in the next round. Milwaukee is better than they get credit for and they are a deep team, a lot deeper than Cleveland. They may not be able to stop LeBron but they can stop everyone else on that team and LeBron can't beat them by himself. Even if Cleveland gets past the Bulls they aren't making it to the finals, it's not happening.

This might be a bias here but the Bulls are going to surprise a lot of people in the next round. Milwaukee is better than they get credit for and they are a deep team, a lot deeper than Cleveland.

The Bucks best offensive player is OJ Mayo. So no Milwaukee is not better than they get credit for. They are a fine young team but there's no excuse for the Bulls to not have taken care of them in 5 games at the most.

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They may not be able to stop LeBron but they can stop everyone else on that team and LeBron can't beat them by himself. Even if Cleveland gets past the Bulls they aren't making it to the finals, it's not happening.

I also think you're forgetting a guy by the name of Kyrie Irving. Last time I checked he averaged nearly 22 points per game and scored 55+ twice this season. Even without Love I don't see anyone in the East beating Cleveland. The Bulls turn the ball over too much and don't have an answer for LeBron or Kyrie, Washington doesn't have enough fire power, and Atlanta is basically the 2014 Pacers.

The Bucks best offensive player is OJ Mayo. So no Milwaukee is not better than they get credit for. They are a fine young team but there's no excuse for the Bulls to not have taken care of them in 5 games at the most.

That part I agree with but it's only the 1st round. I still think Milwaukee is a better team than they get credit for but it's still the 1st round after all. I can't count how many times teams have started off rocky and picked it up. It's not the same sport but the Red Wings in '08 fit that description to a tee.

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Originally Posted by Big Sexy

I also think you're forgetting a guy by the name of Kyrie Irving. Last time I checked he averaged nearly 22 points per game and scored 55+ twice this season. Even without Love I don't see anyone in the East beating Cleveland. The Bulls turn the ball over too much and don't have an answer for LeBron or Kyrie, Washington doesn't have enough fire power, and Atlanta is basically the 2014 Pacers.

Oh believe me I haven't forgot about Kyrie Irving, it's hard to considering that guy has made me a good chunk of change this season. Chicago and Washington can take care of Irving, they can't take care of LeBron but then again they don't need to, I remember a certain Pistons team not even try to defend Shaq and still dominated a Laker team that on paper was superior. At the end of the day a team wins the series, not just a player. I don't even consider Atlanta in this, comparing them to last years Pacer team is pretty accurate.

The 2004 Pistons were a different animal. For my money they were the best "Team" in NBA history (I'm not saying they would beat teams like the 60s Celtics, 80s Lakers, or 90s Bulls, just that they played the best team basketball). The Bulls are no where near that level. LeBron and Kyrie will be the two best players in that series. Losing Love hurts but guys like Mozgov, Shumpert, and Thompson have a lot of talent and will be a good enough supporting cast.